Budget plan for police largely unchanged

Annapolis proposal looks similar to previous year’s despite some council members’ desire for reform

The proposed Annapolis police budget for the upcoming fiscal year looks largely similar to the budget approved by the City Council last year, irking some council members who hoped to see more change following months of calls for police reforms across the country.

The police budget is around $22 million in total — a 4.4% increase over current spending — with about 83% paying for salaries and benefits of 169 employees. The other roughly $3.1 million would pay for operating expenses like supplies and contract services, such as vehicle maintenance, utility and phone bills, virtual desktop services and other items department leadership says are essential to function effectively during the pandemic and beyond.

The difference from the last budget process in 2020 to this year is the nearly 12 full months of marches and protests by community members and elected leaders following numerous police shootings and incidents of police brutality. Those voices called for wholesale changes in how police departments use their vast resources.

Some members of the City Council, most notably Alderman DaJuan Gay, D-Ward 8, have been left frustrated that Chief Ed Jackson’s budget doesn’t reflect that call to change despite Jackson and others in his leadership team promising a shift a community-based policing model since he became the city’s top cop in 2019.

Gay made his qualms known at a Finance Committee meeting late last month with Jackson and Deputy Chief Stan Brandford in attendance. Gay and other council members peppered them with questions about how his department works and how he plans to spend what amounts to 14% of Mayor Gavin Buckley’s $152 million spending plan.

“You guys do a really good job of talking, but the budget is not reflective of that,” Gay said. “How can you move forward with community policing without taking this $22 million budget and revamping the police department completely?”

The department is doing its “very best” with the resources it’s given, Jackson said.

Buckley has defended the budget proposal, saying the city is at the forefront of police reform from its body-worn cameras program to a proposed civilian review board.

On Friday, the police department unveiled another piece of that reform when it cut the ribbon on a police sub-station in Harbour House that will connect residents with city social programs.

“You can’t dismantle something before you’ve had a chance to see if it’s effective,” Buckley said. “We can’t create a policing model community policing model if we don’t give it a chance. I’m just asking the City Council to give us a chance.”

Jackson argued that a budget increase would actually help in the effort of making changes more quickly. He also pointed to unique parts of Annapolis that require a fullyfunded police force to respond to the city’s needs. Annapolis’s function as the state capital, the seat of the state and county governments, is home to the Naval Academy and serves a popular tourist destination yearround, Jackson said.

Alderwoman Elly Tierney, D-Ward 1, said she would have liked to see Jackson use the budget as an opportunity to make changes within the financial confines given to him.

“There’s always a reason to add money, but we really have to change the mindset into not adding money but realigning your budget to the urgencies of this time.”

Gay has signaled he is preparing a raft of amendments to do just that, some of which could impact how money in the police department is spent.

In the finance meeting, Gay asked Jackson to explain how the department might cope if — hypothetically — the number of sworn officers was cut by 10. The force currently has 109 officers as of April, according to Jackson. The budget funds 124 officer positions with the hope that recruitment and hiring will allow the hiring of new officers during the next fiscal year.

“Would you be able to do a good job with 90 officers?” Gay asked.

Jackson responded, “It would be difficult.” Alderman Rob Savidge, D-Ward 7, has started to explore sharing some of the police’s operations with the county, such as the K-9 unit, bomb squad and others.

Savidge is the lead sponsor on a police reform bill that could further reshape policing in the city. Though the bill, Ordnance 12-21, does not change the police department’s funding, a newly passed state law could increase costs for things like training but exactly how much is still unclear.

“We don’t have money for increases. If we got along without a bomb squad or K-9 before, we can in the future,” Savidge said. “We have to figure it out, or we will have to lay off people.”

Alderman Ross Arnett, D-Ward 8, has sought a balance between maintaining normal policing operations while also finding reforms that meet the City Council’s desires.

“My suspicion is it’s going to cost us more to make the transition rather than less,” Arnett said during budget deliberations Thursday. “It’s a dilemma, we have a tough job.”

James Spearman, a retired Annapolis police sergeant who is now a member of the Caucus of African American Leaders, sees potential major shifts in the police budget as a bad idea that could harm how the department works in the community. Part of the issue lies in a lack of trust between the community and police that would be helped if officers were better trained, Spearman said.

“This is the wrong time to reduce the number of police officers in the department,” Spearman said. “By the same token, you have to be mindful of the fact that communities are changing and crime changes. So, the police departments have to be equipped to adjust to those dynamics and the only way that you can truly adjust to those dynamics is to train.”

Phyllis Gray who has worked as the resident services coordinator in Bay Ridge Gardens since 2015, said she would like to see an increased presence of police officers who get to know residents, to learn their names and build rapport and help people better understand their job.

She pointed to a community movie night that police are holding in the coming days as an event that should happen more often.

“I understand they don’t have that many officers,” Gray said. “They need to come here all the time rather than for an arrest.”

Why an increase?

Most of the 4.4% increase in the police budget can be blamed on a hike in pension contributions the city has implemented over the last few years.

Starting July 1, the city will pay about 35 cents for every dollar in salary to police and fire employees, up from 28 cents last year. That will push salary and benefits costs to around $19 million, up from the $16.8 million the department is projected to spend this fiscal year. Those costs were lowered in fiscal 2021 thanks to $314,00 in federal coronavirus aid money used to pay police salaries.

Non-salary expenses are expected to increase by about $149,000 next year, due in part to costs associated with the COVID19 pandemic including building and vehicle sanitation and increases in telephone and virtual desktop services.

Other new costs this year include $495,000 in capital outlay for new computer software, evidence storage expansion and upgrades to the crime scene processing unit.

Elsewhere the department has budgeted $125,000 for programs and activities like the Strengthening Families Program, a substance abuse initiative, and the county’s Mobile Crisis Response Team.

As part of a broader effort to keep costs down, the police have left open seven jobs to save about $717,000.